This paper, and the two following papers, were included in the VTS-96 Symposium held in Rotterdam in April 1996. They are reproduced by kind permission of the Symposium Organizing Committee.
In the Netherlands, inland waterways occupy an important position in the transport of goods to and from the hinterland. To guarantee safety at dangerous junctions, VTS-centres have been introduced since 1952. Some years ago an extra dimension was added to some of these VTScentres, namely the promotion of the optimal use of a limited waterway, to guarantee a smooth traffic flow. This is certainly necessary for the river Waal, which can be considered as the aorta to the German hinterland.
Automatic data exchange between all inland VTS-centres and the German information centres along the Rhine contributes to a great extent to the operation of the VTS-centres. In case of an accident, appropriate measures can be taken immediately, saving human life and respecting the environment.
